We write to urge the Federal Reserve Board and the Treasury to require a freeze on all mergers and acquisitions activity by otherwise viable corporations as a condition for use of the credit programs authorized under the CARES Act and Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. The Fed must aggressively attempt to retain institutional credibility as a neutral actor in our economic order with regards to the distributional effects of its policies. It should not help finance a merger wave that leads to large-scale consolidation of companies which would have been healthy competitors but for temporary impacts of the current crisis.

Full letter available here.